The story behind Psalm 76 is most likely God's judgment of the Assyrian army as
recorded in Isaiah 37-38 and 2 Kings 18-19. The armies of the Assyrian King
Sennacherib had surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to it. The leaders of the
army were demanding that King Hezekiah and the people surrender. The prophet
Isaiah encouraged King Hezekiah to put his trust in the name of the God of
heaven’s armies and that is exactly what he did. And after Hezekiah laid his
situation before the LORD, and put his trust in Him, God sent one angel and
destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night.
From this Psalm we learn several things that God wants us to do. God wants us to
know Him (vv. 1-3). God wants us to trust Him (vv. 4-6). God wants us to fear
Him (vv. 7-9). And God wants us to obey Him (vv. 10-12). Today, we will be
looking at verses 7-9, and be thinking about how God wants us to fear Him.
The fear of the Lord is a major theme in this psalm (vv. 7, 8, 11, 12). The “fear
of the Lord” is mentioned often throughout the Bible, and it means the
reverential awe, the respect and veneration that belong to God alone. God's
people love Him and rejoice in Him, but they also "worship the Lord
with reverence, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11). A. W. Tozer wrote:
"No one can know the true grace of God, who has not first known the
fear of God".
The Lord had been longsuffering toward Sennacherib's officers as they blasphemed
His name and threatened His people, but then He revealed His wrath, and the
siege was over that never really started. The question that asked in verse 7, “You,
Yourself, are to be feared; And who may stand in Your presence When once You
are angry?”, is also asked in Psalm 130:3: “If You, LORD, should mark
iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That
You may be feared.” It is also asked
in Revelation 6:17: “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is
able to stand?"
We rejoice that "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16), but we must also
remember that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). The New
Testament passage that always comes to my mind when thinking about God’s love, God’s
judgment, and our fear is 1 John 4:9-10; 17-19: “In this the love of God was
manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins…”. “Love
has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who
fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”
When we have experienced God’s “perfect love” through Jesus Christ, we no
longer have to fear the “torment” of God’s wrath and punishment for our
sins. This fear is cast out and we are in awe of God who love us so much that
He would give His only Son to die for us!
“You caused judgment to be heard from heaven” (v. 8). From His throne in heaven, the Lord
announced the verdict and the trial was over. There could be no appeal because
God's court is the very highest and His judgment leaves the defendants
speechless. “… that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). "The earth feared, and was
still" (v. 8).
According to verses 9 and 10, God's judgments accomplish at least three purposes: they
bring glory to God as they reveal His justice and holiness; they punish the
wicked for their evil deeds; and they bring salvation to those who trust the
Lord.
Today, if we have accepted God’s salvation, we truly can "worship the Lord
with reverence, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).
God bless!
